Atleast six more killed in continuing Balochistan violence
Dated 25/1/2006
Printer Friendly
Subscribe
Quetta: At least six people have been killed after a minibus ran over a landmine in Pakistan's south-western province of Balochistan, local officials say.
Five others were hurt in the blast near Dera Bugti, about 350km (250 miles) from provincial capital. Quetta.
No group has said it carried out the attack. Officials suspect tribal rebels may have planted the mine.
The situation in Balochistan has deteriorated with increasing violence between rebels and security forces.
All of the victims were passengers, officials said.
Crackdown
Senior local government official Abdul Samad Lasi told the Associated Press that rebels targeting security forces guarding gas pipelines and other facilities in the area may have been behind the explosion.
Earlier this month, three soldiers were killed and three others wounded when their vehicle struck a landmine in the town of Pir Koh, east of Quetta.
After the blast, suspected militants launched an attack on a gas field in which 12 rebels were reported to have died.
Tribal militants in Balochistan, the source of Pakistan's main gas reserves, are demanding greater control over natural resources.
The army launched a major crackdown last month after rockets were fired during a visit by President Pervez Musharraf.
